Die Geist Maschine
by Bondii
Summary: Grandia 2: Years before the Gods, mankind was ignorant. They were consumed with the search for power over others. This is a story of the ultimate power, and the consequences of trying to control it. (Chapter two added 6/23/01)
1. Delivery

When the world was still young and yawned at every dawn's waking, Granas, the God of Light, came. All was bathed in the holy light of Heaven. Thus, those were the days of marvels.  
  
Yet, there were those who sought the power to resist Granas, they found power in Valmar, the God of Darkness. Power to release the energy bound up in life. Power to unmake the world.  
  
Thus, in those days, they made war.  
  
The fighting continued endlessly, until the Sword of Granas pierced the infinite darkness of Valmar. The mighty blow from Granas not only smashed Valmar to pieces, but also carved several ugly scars in the very surface of the planet.  
  
These are the Granacliffs that survive even to the present, scars in the land.  
  
This is the reason we call this earth the "Cursed Land"  
------------------------------  
  
Back in those days, before the times of the gods, and the battles of goods and evils, the world was hopeless. Nations fought nations, and every man craved one thing. Lives upon lives were lost for this desire. It was power.  
  
Supremacy was all they thought of, and it blinded them. This story is the tale of the ultimate power. The rise of knowledge, its consequences, and the downfall of the entire human race.  
------------------------------  
  
'Ships approaching. They are identified as hostile. Formation initiated. Weapons charging. It is recommended to organize into battle stations." droned the computer defense system.  
  
Whenever the computer defense system came over the loud speaker, danger was nearby. Not that anyone on the ship would care. The pilots, the crew, the janitorial department, were all automatons. Even the only human onboard, Feosol (or so he is known as today, his real name long forgotten), didn't panic. He was a warrior. The warrior. He had lived through many battles, and would likely see the end of this one.  
  
Feosol was famous in any empire of the world. Everyone knew his name. He was rumored to have killed over a thousand men with his saber, and didn't think a second of adding another soul as it's victim. Ruthless on the battlefield, cunning during pinches, and genius everywhere else, he was wicked beyond any other man.   
  
No one could trust him, and he could trust no one. It was for this reason his mighty ship was completely automaton, much easier to control as he would have said.   
  
Seeing him was quite a peculiar site, as his long past had taken a toll on his body. Old scars rested all over his body, records of his many battles. He was missing part of an ear and a whole nostril. Feosol's elbow was made of an old metal, the same that his sword was. Flexing his right arm caused a rickety metallic sound to fill the air. He walked duck footed, and his shoulders rounded off. The warrior looked nothing like the handsome, muscular, and valiant kind we know of today. Feosol's dark green cape hung over his shoulders, hiding the lack of broadness he had there. Standing at over six and a half feet tall, with a bony frame, you would have never suspected him of being the most wanted man in the world.   
  
Wanted because of his cargo, a highly advanced computer device that transfigures a mind's essence into a spiritual entity based on their heart. He had stolen it from a laboratory in the Ubi quadrant, and made off with it.   
  
"Six days for them to catch up with me?" Feosol muttered, "I expected more of the Ubi. No matter, I will prevail." He readjusted his chair on the bridge of his airship, and nonchalantly pressed two buttons. Seconds later, two photon cannons lowered from the underbelly of the ship and aimed at the five approaching fighter aircrafts. It let out three bursts of orange energy, going straight through two of the ships. Seconds later, the ships that were hit exploded in a magnificent burst of color and energy.   
  
Feosol gazed down at the battle monitor, watching two enemy units vanish off the screen. "Three to go." He snickered.   
  
The three remaining ships circled Feosol's craft, and fired simultaneously. He grabbed hold of the control stick and dodged swiftly to the left, grazed by one shot and untouched by two others. He pulled back on the control and flipped over, and ended up behind all three enemies. Then, he pushed the same buttons as before, and the same orange energy fired. Four blasts pelted one ship, and sent it smashing into the rocks of a close mountain range.   
  
Both enemy ships now sped up and around, and continuously firing their own shots at the Enchanted (what Feosol called his airship). Blast after blast was avoided, and another button push shot out a gigantic red ball of energy that totally disintegrated the second to last ship. Faced with no other option, the remaining ship zoomed straight towards the Enchanted. "Fool." Grumbled Feosol. He tilted the nose of the ship dead on with the oncoming enemy. The two smashed into each other, sending bits of metal to the ground, and causing an explosion of fire in the air. As the fire died down, smoke was left. Out of this smoke came the Enchanted, unscathed by the collision.  
  
"Weaklings shouldn't try and fight those they know who'll they lose against" said the victor.   
------------------------------  
  
It was not long after, that he set the ship down outside of a small town with an underground laboratory. Feosol walked to the entrance of the building (the building, from what he could see, must be completely underground except for the entrance) and stood at the doorway. He noted how small the door was, barely a foot or two across. This worried him, how was anyone expected to get in and out?  
  
"Password?" asked a voice behind the locked door.  
  
"I don't remember a password, let me in or you don't get your damn package." Grumbled Feosol as he shifted his weight. This delivery would pay handsomely he thought silently. Well worth the effort.  
  
"Would you happen to be Feosol Diagon? The famous?" the voice asked anxiously.  
  
Feosol sighed heavily. He was an outlaw to most, but a hero to some. All people didn't matter to him, as long as he got his money (and maybe draw a little blood in the process). "Yes, it is me. Now, come out and get your baggage or I leave with it. I'm sure it will fetch quite a bundle in the black market."  
  
"Oh no, don't do a thing like that! One moment please!" The sound of clanks of locks opening and buttons being pushed was soon heard. What had appeared to be a miniscule door, turned out to be a very large storage hangar. The threshold in must have been atleast 10 feet wide.  
  
"Come, come now. In you go." An old man, probably in his late fifties stood right where the voice had been. He was balding, but had white, long, wispy hairs billowing around him. His eyes were gleeful and smile warm. Feosol didn't like him already. He was too cheery.  
  
"I'd rather make this short and sweet. I hand over the delivery, you give me my gold. Fair deal." Feosol was looking rather uneasy. He didn't like the odd equipment behind the man that was obviously being used for experiments, as any person would notice the beakers and animal fetuses.   
  
"Atleast let me introduce myself! I'm Sanarg! Pleased to meet you in person, Feosol Diagon."  
  
Behind Sanarg a shadow moved, and a feminine voice spoke up. "Leave him alone. You need not act this way to everyone, Sanarg."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do! I am just as capable of a scientist as you are, Ramlav. Be kind to visitors and any other guests, I say.", he replied calmly.  
  
"Quarrel with one another AFTER I'm gone.", spoke up Feosol. He motioned to his airship, and walked off to it, his arm at his side creaking slightly.   
Glancing back, Feosol got his first glance at the woman named Ramlav. She was considerably short, and had long flowing black hair behind her. Her features were dark, and the black pupils she had sent a slight chill up his spine. Now, knowing Feosol's past, this was some feat, nothing frightened him.   
  
The three of them reached the airship, and Feosol touched a panel. It opened up and he entered a series of numbers into a panel. The side of the Enchanted opened up slowly and a machine, the size of a small room hovered around three inches off the floor inside.   
  
"There you go, unharmed. And I had a scuffle with five Ubi rogue pilots. I think that deserves one thousand more gold.", said Feosol.  
  
"No deals. The payment was decided on before.", growled Ramlav.  
  
"We must be kind to our deliver! Of course we'll pay the extra amount, you deserved it for a job well done.", Sanarg added solemly. He reached into his robe pocket, fumbled around, and pulled out ten golden pieces. They were each worth one hundred. Sanarg handed them to Feosol with a slight smile.  
  
"How do you plan on moving it to your facility? It is too large to lift, carry, or pull.", added Feosol questionably.  
  
"Simple.... simple...." Sanarg raised his hand, and slid it in midair in the direction of the laboratory. Amazingly, the machine lurched forward and quietly stopped just inside the bay doors.  
  
Even the great warrior had never seen such a deed done. "You did that as if by magic!", he exclamined.  
  
"It WAS magic. Simple process infusion of the old sorcery skills and the Birth Eggs to make it possible for all to use magic.", said Ramlav matter-of-factly. "We must be going now ourselves.", she added. With that, she turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness of the structure.  
  
"It is so hard to get any work done with her.... Our goals are so different.... Oh well, I mustn't complain. She is still my work partner, and a good one at that. Here is your money, good sir." Taking from an inner pocket, Sanarg withdrew a medium sized pocket book, with roughly twenty thousand gold in currency.  
  
The two said their farewells (Feosol's was a bit more cold then Sanarg's, but had little effect on dampening either of their moods.) and were off. Sanarg shut the door, and locked the locks. Feosol stepped into the Enchanted and a short time later, took off, over the mountain ranges.  
  
I never did find out specifically what that thing did, he thought as the mountains faded away behind him.  
------------------------------ 


	2. Test Run

Author's Note: Back again for another chapter! And as for the reviewer "somebody", your question was not entirely understood by me. Do you mean if this really belongs in the Grandia fandom? It actually does, but it takes place long before the events of the game and gives a bit of a backdrop on it. That'll be visible later in the story. And with saying that, enjoy chapter two!  
---------------------------  
  
  
Shortly after Feosol's departure, the two professors, Sanarg and Ramlav began their tests. Sanarg was first to approach the machine. He flipped a switch near the bottom, and the gadget slowly dropped out of the air onto the ground. Ramlav stood near what looked to be a door made of the same silvery metal that covered the outside of the machine, which had no door handle. The metal seemed to pulse faintly like a heart beat. Both scientists stood in awe and gently rubbed their hands against the corners.  
  
"There is no way Ubi workers could have made something like this... it's incredible." Sighed Sanarg.  
  
"They made it alright, no doubt in my mind. They've had blueprints on this machine since I worked there at the beginning of my career. That's how I learned of it. It has immense potential. I-- WE can do anything with it." Ramlav squirmed a little as she corrected herself. Sanarg had given her a funny look. "We shouldn't waste time. Get going with your work. And don't bother me while I'm doing mine. We have to find out how to operate it." With that, they both were silent.  
  
Sanarg was investigating a keypad beneath a blank screen, and tapped a few buttons. The screen turned a dark green and numbers and letters popped up, which he scrolled through and read barely outloud, to himself.  
  
"...A maximum power level of 42% must be used for temporary Transfusion. If the power exceeds this level, a chance of permanent damage to the natural body may occur, resulting in full time life within the Transfusion state. Although the changes would then be irreversible, the user would now possess these powers until their soul is Shattered by tremendous pressure, weariness, or long term battle. This is not advised..." He continued reading, this time silent.  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the mysterious device, Ramlav was also at a keypad, but she was trying to find a way to open the door she had been looking at previously. She tapped numerous symbols into the keypad, to no avail. As Ramlav began to get impatient, one more button press slid the door open sharply. In she walked, threw a short hall, maybe eight or nine feet in, the middle of the machine. The door behind her closed and everything went completely dark. Not even her own hand could be seen infront of her face.  
  
Sanarg's reading was interrupted when he noticed a monitor flashing yellow next to him. He looked onto it, and saw an outline in green lines of Ramlav, obviously inside the machine. A power bar beneath the image was filling. It slowly added percent after percent, and was approaching the double-digit percent range, when Sanarg pushed a large orange button beneath the grid.   
  
The room Ramlav was in glowed dark purple, as did the metal on the outside. She felt a cold, piercing wind move through her entire body, and her skin darkened to the same dark purple as the rooms. Her body became transparent and she let out a high pitched scream as her body seemed to rip apart. Everything went black again, and when light was restored to the room, dark purple gas filled the entire chamber within the machine. Ramlav was no where to be seen.  
  
The expression on Sanarg's face after witnessing this on the monitor was one that could make anyone laugh. His eyes were wide open, his jaw hanging. A hissing snapped him out of it, as the gas spoke through what must be a speaker inside the machine. "It's wonderful! I've never felt this way! I'm free... I can feel power coursing through my entire essence... Hurry, open the panel. I want to test my strength."  
  
Fumbling with the controls, Sanarg managed to open the door, and out shot the gas form of Ramlav. She flew through the air and flung right out the bay doors into the outdoors, away from the laboratory. The gas hovered thirty or forty feet up in the air and all was silent for a moment or two as she concentrated on a large rock beneath her. Purple tendrils whirled away from the gas body and slithered along the ground. As it went over the herbs and plants they grew for projects, everything withered and turned gray, lifeless. When the dark tendrils reached the rock, it exploded in a terrible bang. The long, thin, tendrils drew back into the gas cloud that was Ramlav. She cackled tremendously, very pleased with herself.  
  
"Excellent! I couldn't be more pleased! What power was the Geist Maschine at when you initiated the sequence?" she demanded of Sanarg.  
  
Geist Maschine? He thought to himself. Even he had not been told much of what this was supposed to do. Ramlav had just said that it was very powerful, very important, and priceless. She had also said she'd need his help uncovering the mysteries even she didn't understand about it.  
  
"Only eleven percent of its full capabilities. There was also a warning about putting the power too---" He didn't get to finish his word of advice to her, as her laughter rang out reaching the mountains and forests nearby.  
  
"I possess the most power in the world! No one can stop me!" She yelled shrilly.  
  
"What do you mean, 'me'? I thought it was us?" Yelled Sanarg so he could be overheard by her. He wasn't answered though, as she flew away from him, leaving wispy dark clouds behind. She soared high into the air, testing more. She dodged between trees as she entered the forest. Each thing she passed turned a dull gray and died almost instantly. She didn't stop as she flew straight up out of the forest and right into a flock of birds. They all dropped lifeless into the forest canopy.   
  
"Come down here right now! You aren't taking precautions! We need to test this out more! You're killing everything!" Sanarg yelled as loud as he could. Ramlav didn't even respond. She kept flying over everything she could find and an occasional tendril crept out of her and blew objects into tiny pieces. Sanarg's eyes continued to follow her, until almost an hour later, she seemed to be forming back into a solid. The gases clumped together and she stopped in mid air. Out of the ball of gas burst her solid, human body. Ramlav's skin turned back to her normal pale color, and she fell out of the sky, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.  
  
Sanarg rushed out to the field over to her. He checked her over and helped her sit up. "Broken shoulder... pity, Ramlav... should have listened to me."  
  
"Don't you dare tell me what I should have done!" She winced slightly and held her broken shoulder with her good hand.  
  
"Come on, let's get back to the laboratory. I'll get you all mended up and you'll be good as new." He replied to her kindly. Sanarg lifted her up, and they both walked solemnly back to the bay doors. He closed the doors behind them and took her to a small closet near an office inside.   
Out of it he took a pack of what looked like red ice in a plastic bag, and some gauze wrap. He cracked the red ice and it almost instantly turned to thick goo, which he poured onto her shoulder. She let out a small yell, and complained how she hated this, as it always burned. Then when the goo hardened into a thick wax, Sanarg wrapped her shoulder with the gauze tightly.  
  
"There you go. Should be better in days."  
  
"No kidding." Was her only reply, without a thank you whatsoever.  
  
"Its getting late... dark outside. We should let the testing continue tomorrow. You need your rest." Sanarg smiled at her as he said this.  
  
Ramlav scowled, but walked up a spiral metal staircase to the second floor, where she opened a door to her quarters and slammed it behind her. She soon fell asleep, angry at the world and her old body.   
  
Sanarg sat down on a box and gazed at the machine intently for a good half hour before he shook his head and muttered, "Geist Maschine...." He stood up, walked up a different spiral staircase, and into his own room. Minutes later, he was dreaming.  
---------------------------  
  
Author's Note: There you go. Not long. What is the machine capable of? What is Ramlav planning to do with it? What about Feosol? Where did he go? Find out in the next exciting chapter of "Die Geist Maschine!" *corny super hero music follows*  



End file.
